October 14, 2022

The General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Arc. Gbolahan Oki, said his Agency has demolished over 100 defective structures since the beginning of 2022 to stem the tide of building collapse across the State.

Arc. Oki, who disclosed this while speaking on the activities of the Agency, added the affected buildings failed the recommended Non-Destructive Test (NDT) conducted by LASBCA.

Explaining that the decision by the Agency to remove the affected structures was informed by the need to save lives and properties from an avoidable building collapse, Oki listed the locations of the demolished structures as Mushin, Okota, Lagos Island, Ifako-Ijaiye, Alimosho, Yaba, Ebute-Metta, Surulere, Agege and Oworonshoki amongst others.

According to him, the majority of the demolished buildings were pulled down by the demolition gang of LASBCA, while a few others were demolished by their respective owners after obtaining permission and approval for self-demolition from the State Government.

Oki maintained that prior to the removals, the owners/developers had been served all the statutory enforcement notices in consonance with the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2019 as amended.

He emphasised that the decision to finally remove the structures was taken after a thorough engineering appraisal and monitoring of the building carried out by the Agency with a view to ensuring a better physical planning environment for sustainable development while averting needless loss of lives and properties.

The General Manager added that the Agency would continue to comb the nooks and crannies of the state to identify distressed structures and remove them promptly, especially during this rainy season.

“We would intensify our enforcement activities across the State, identify and remove all distressed buildings to prevent loss of lives in the event of a collapse, especially as the rains have intensified”, Oki said.

Oki, however, pleaded with occupiers of distressed structures in the State to vacate and report such to LASBCA offices located in their areas for prompt action to prevent the needless loss of life and properties associated with building collapse.